- Date
- May 28, 2026, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chesapeake, VA · On Airport
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55739Piper PA-28-180
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 30, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 203077
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper decision to continue with an unstabilized approach, which resulted in a hard landing, loss of directional control, and collision with a runway marker light and sign.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he made an unstable approach, after which the airplane landed hard and bounced. A gust of wind caught the airplane’s right wing during the bounce and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The left wing collided with a runway marker light and a directional sign, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing spar and punctured the fuel tank. The pilot was able to get the airplane back on the runway and aborted the landing. Once airborne, he smelled fuel, declared an emergency and landed without further incident. The pilot reported there were no mechanical issues that contributed to the accident and that he should have gone around versus trying to force a landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55739
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7305456
- Built
- 1973
- Airframe hours
- 3,751.9
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 27, 2026
- Departed
- GED · Georgetown, DE
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PVG · Hampton Roads Exec, runway 10/28, 5,350 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 139 total · 23 in this make and model · 35 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- PVG
- METAR
- METAR KPVG 281755Z VRB03KT 10SM FEW050 28/18 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP299 61000 10280 20220 57003 PWINO FZRANO RVRNO